Excellent service from TMH : Dr Mandar Mahavir Shah
Chief Consultant & Head, Department of Cardiology is saying 3rd March 2015 was a landmark day in the history of Tata Main Hospital (TMH), Jamshedpur, when a dedicated Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory (Cath Lab) was inaugurated. It was not just a new medical facility. It was a promise to provide Jamshedpur and the surrounding region access to the kind of heart care that, until then, seemed out of reach. From that day on, a journey rooted in compassion, conviction,
and commitment began. As the Lab completes a decade, we celebrate the countless lives it touched and endless moments of teamwork and triumph. None of this would have been possible without the belief and support of those who laid the foundation. The force behind this were Mr H M Nerurkar, the then Managing Director of Tata Steel, whose vision set the wheels in motion, and Mr T V Narendran, the current CEO & Managing Director, whose steady encouragement saw the project through to completion. Mr Sunil Bhaskaran, then Vice President Corporate Services, lent crucial administrative momentum, and AVM (Retd.) Dr Madhudhanan and Lt Gen (Retd.) Dr G Ramdas, both former General Managers – Medical Services, played pivotal roles in aligning systems and people to make the dream real
. Dr Vijaya Bharat, the first Head of Cardiology at TMH, not only envisioned the Cath Lab but also worked tirelessly to bring it to fruition. Mentors from CARE Hospitals Dr B Soma Raju, Dr Narasimhan, Dr Rajeev Menon, and Dr Swaroop Bharadi helped us stand on our feet. In the first year itself, the Lab crossed 1,000 cases. Today, over 2,600 procedures are performed annually, including 1,400 angiographies, 750 angioplasties, and around 300 pacemaker implants. Even during tough times like the fire incident in the Cath Lab, and the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team never paused. One of our strongest pillars has been our commitment to staying at the forefront of technology.
Some of the innovations we now use routinely include Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) for precise imaging, Rotational and Orbital Atherectomy for treating complex, calcified arteries, and Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL), which was first offered by TMH in Jharkhand. We are proud of being the only centre in Jharkhand with in-house electrophysiology facilities, offering EP study and Radiofrequency ablations. We routinely perform most advances pacemaker and device implantations, including conduction system pacing like his Bundle and Left Bundle Branch pacing and LOT CRT and LOT AICDs for heart failure and arrhythmia patients. We run a dedicate Device Clinic to monitor and care for patients with pacemakers. And now, taking another step forward, we have started performing peripheral vascular interventions. These procedures,
addressing diseases of arteries beyond the heart, such as those in the legs or kidneys, mark a major expansion of our expertise. Patients no longer need to be referred to distant cities for advanced treatments. They now receive world-class care right here at home. For all the science and skill, it is compassion that defines us. We’ve made empathy part of our protocol from detailed counselling to minimal waiting times, from post-procedure guidance to long-term follow-up. Believing that the best intervention is prevention, we regularly conduct heart health talks on local radio, and workshops and awareness sessions in schools and public places. What we are most proud of is the fact that, upholding the Tata ethos, we have never compromised on ethics.
Every decision, medical or managerial, is weighed against one question: What is best for the patient? Our greatest strength is and have always been our people. From nurses and technicians to anaesthetists, junior doctors, admin staff, specialists and our back-end support, every single person has played a role in this decade-long journey. We’ve faced midnight emergencies, resource crunches, back-to-back cases, and personal sacrifices. But we never stepped back. In 2023, the Dr NB Cardiology Programme a cardiology super speciality teaching programme was launched.
Our residents gain exposure to a vast case mix and are encouraged to question, research, and publish. And we keep moving forward as we prepare to launch a CTVS Centre for surgical support, TAVR and MitraClip programmes for structural heart disease, Interventional Pediatric Cardiology services, and Advanced EP with 3D mapping. Our dream is to build a comprehensive Heart Centre: one that not only treats, but heals; not only saves lives, but changes them.